Thi Phuoc Loan Tran

English 095 – 05

Dr. Yang

0730 AprilMarch 2019

AMERICAN EDUCATION VERSUS VIETNAMESE EDUCATION

Have you ever studied for more than ten hours every day? Have you ever tried to memorize every single word of dozen pages to get ready for athe test? This isose are what I have experienced during my education studies in Vietnam. The Vietnamese education system is very rigorous and strict. On the contrary, the American education system is nonrestrictive and more moderate. Since I moved to the US and received the American education, Imy study haves no pressure and stress as in Vietnam. The differences in costs, teaching and learning methods, and extracurricular activities are the reasons I prefer the US education systemeducation of the US.

First, cost is the biggest difference between American and Vietnamese education. In the United States, all children can go to school without paying tuition from elementary to high school. All isare covered by the government except for mealsfood and drink, which is each student must pay for themselves. American schools allow students to wear casual clothes, so students do not need to spend money to buy uniforms. As for transportation, they also do not need to worry because there are free school buses that pick and bring them back homeo pick them up every morning and take them home after school. In addition, school supplies and textbooks are also provided for use by the school. After graduating from high school and starting college, it is a time when students have to pay for tuition and other expenses. Fortunately, the US has a welfare program called financial aid, which is any grants, scholarships, work study, and

loans to help students meet their college expenses. Essentially, American education has created the best condition for all children to attend school and obtain knowledge. Unlike in the US, Vietnam is where education in Vietnam is not free. From kindergarten to to elementary, middle, high school and college, students all have to pay tuition that steadily increasesand it gets higher as they start higher education. Although the cost is not very high, for poor families, it is a big matter for poor families. Vietnamese schools require students to wear uniforms, so students spend amounts of money on sewing and buying new uniforms every few years. In Vietnam, the sschool bus is rarely heard of because students musthave to go to school by themselves in different ways such as: parents pick up, public transport, bicycle or walk. The most remarkable thing is that Vietnamese students have tomust buy their learning supplies, textbooks, and pay other expenses such as sanitation or even the school’s repair costs. These are the reasons that many children, especially children in impoverished conditions narrow circumstance cannot go to school because they cannot afford to payare not able to go because they cannot afford it. When Vietnamese students start college, tuition and fees increase and , but the sad thing is that the government does not have any programs to help students to cover expenses in costs like the US.

When it comes to school, it is impossible not to mention the teaching methods and style of learning style; and this is the second reason why Vietnam’s education system is still behindackward. In the US education system, from early childhood to general education, students are always encouraged to express their personal opinions in any matter; they are encouraged to enhance self-mastery, the ability to think independently, communicateion, and creativity. The fundamental teaching method in the US is to guide and stimulate excitement so that students can actively explore, discover and draw lessons for themselves. Whereas, the approaches in Vietnamese education are largely lecture-based, rote learning and “teacher reading – students writing”. The teacher presents the lectures while students are sittingsit and takeking notes carefully. Student creativity is limited. The reason that American students can freely communicate with teachers is that the relationship between them is casual and friendly. Teachers receive and evaluate students’ opinions without any unpleasant attitude. On the other hand, Vietnamese teachers need to be respected. Communication between teachers and students requires seriousness and mutual respect. Therefore, openness is quite limited. Besides, the education system in Vietnam can be harsh and exhausting because of the tight study schedule. Students in the US are very proactive in terms of study time and are allowed to choose their own classes. They only need to take four to five classes each semester and the timetable is the same for all days of the week. As for Vietnamese students, they have to take fourteens subjects in one semester. The schedule is repeated for each week. After school, American students just do the homework that they are ir assignmentsned. Whereas, Vietnamese students must go to extra classes at both in anschool and outside the school. After that, they go home late at night and start dealing with tons of homework. Because of the intense schedule, many Vietnamese students are stressed or depressedeven lead to depression.

Finally, Vietnamese education is too focused on class sessions that limit extracurricular activities. Schools in the US have a variety of clubs. If students want to volunteer, they can join the volunteer programs of many student clubs. There are specialized clubs such as finance, auditing, economics, chemistry; culture clubs such as student associations of countries and territories; or entertainment clubs like photography, tennis, dance. Besides, there are many extracurricular classes like yoga and Latin dance. Activities of American school clubs are very dynamic. American education focuses on developing the human character with a lot of activities outside the school. Through these activities, students can develop their life skills, expand relationships, and accumulate professional experience. The teachers will also discover the qualities of each student, thereby orienting to focus on developing that quality. Music, fine arts, history, geography … or any field is equally concerned. Moreover, extracurricular activities are great for resumes and university application. Conversely, Vietnamese schools only have a few clubs. Each club has very few students participating. These clubs are mainly activeities within the campus. There are many clubs that students do not even know their existenceare not aware of. This situation is because extracurricular activities hardly help improve resumes or university application. Therefore, Vietnamese students only focus on schoolwork because grades are the most important thing for them. Basically, grades define an individual. Test grades determine placement, so students spend many hours to study and ignore extracurricular activities. As a result, Vietnamese students lack life skills and experiences.

In conclusion, all of these differences are the reasons why Vietnam’s education is unable to go further. The Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam needs to make improvements and changes in costs, methods of teaching and learning, and extracurricular activities so that students can receive a better education. Although any comparison will have a mismatch because it depends on the level of life and culture of each country, I must recognize the fact that, in order to achieve successes like advanced countries, Vietnam’s education needs to learn and absorb the best and in accordance with the reality of the country.

My comments: This is a very good first draft with a clear purpose and three points all supporting the thesis.